Waves generated by the massive March 2011 undersea earthquake off Japan traveled 8000 mi. to chop 50 sq. mi. of ice off the Sulzberger Ice Shelf. NASA and ESA satellites captured imagery of the break. Ice may have been weakened by climate change.

A number of devastating earthquakes, including the massive Japan quake, have struck across the globe in recent years, sparking fears that our planet is in an age of megaquakes and could expect more in the near future.